Sunday, November 4, 2007

Fall pies continued...

I know I waxed eloquent in my last post about pumpkin pie and its fall significance and all around pumpkin perfection. All of which I stand by wholeheartedly, however, there is another pie which also evokes much of the same feelings for me. Many of my childhood memories of fall revolve around pecans. Growing up on a farm with 60-80 pecan trees, picking up pecans became a central part of fall. It's how we kids earned money for Christmas shopping and things like summer camp. I'm not saying we were always happy about it, there was plenty of grumbling, whining etc... But looking back there was a lot of laughing and good times as well. Needless to say we ate LOTS of pecans. Many in the form of pecan pie.After marrying and moving away I really missed those fresh, organic pecans that were so plentiful on our farm. Buying pecans from the grocery store was always a disappointment. They can be anywhere from a year to two years old before you buy them. Those dried out nuts are nothing like the plump nuts we picked up, cracked out, and ate.Hubs and I moved back near my family a couple years ago and since that time the pecan crop has been nearly non-existent. No nuts at all, so unfair! This year however things have amazingly turned around. In spite of a terrible drought though out whole southeastern US, this years pecan crop has been unbelievable. So many nuts in fact that many of the pecan trees have lost large limbs from the weight of the nuts. All the nuts on the farm are organically grown, picked up and hand shelled on the premises. For more info or to order pecans check out the farm blog http://waterberryfarm.blogspot.com/.Hubs is not much a dessert person, he could take it or leave it. Unbelievable, I know! However pecan pie is one of the few desserts he doesn't ever pass up. Especially Bourbon Pecan Pie, a family recipe I've been making for years.

Southern Bourbon Pecan Pie

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup pecans

1 cup sugar* see note

1 cup Karo Syrup (light corn syrup)

4 eggs

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla

2 TBL Bourbon (I use Jim Beam)

One 9" unbaked pie shell

Method

Preheat oven to 350

Melt butter in large skillet. I skim away any foam from the cream in the butter that rises to the top. Then toss the nuts into the butter and cook 1-2 minutes until nuts are coated with the butter and warmed. Remove from heat and cool slightly. In another large bowl, whisk together sugar, syrup, and salt. Whisk in eggs one at a time and stir in vanilla and bourbon. Stir in the butter/pecan mixture and pour into prepared unbaked pie shell and bake for 35-45 minutes until the center of the pie is set .

*You can use 1/2 a cup of brown sugar and 1/2 a cup of regular sugar for a more dense, rich pie